


Who We Are

by gelbes_gilatier



Category: Army Wives
Genre: Female Friendship, Friendship, Gen, No Dialogue, Pre-Canon
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-12-01
Updated: 2012-12-01
Packaged: 2017-11-19 23:02:19
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 708
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/578579
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/gelbes_gilatier/pseuds/gelbes_gilatier
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The story of how Denise Sherwood and Claudia Joy Holden came to be friends is one of trials and tribulations.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Who We Are

**Author's Note:**

> So. [Holiday Fic Request Meme](http://gelbes-gilatier.livejournal.com/289880.html), and this one's for **Mackenziesmomma** who's still the best beta ever :)
> 
> Any way... Yep, it's that time of year again. It's royally kicking my ass this year, as I still have to finish one fic for Week One, not to mention all the _other_ weeks. But I haven't given up. I just shall have to take library days ~~to get this done~~ for uni and use them also for fic ~~most~~ during the breaks. Anyway, this one is short and it gave a lot of headaches but I did have some idea in the end. I hope it's one that actually seems in character for them :S

** Who We Are **

  
_“So I had done wrong but you put me right_  
 _My judgment burned in the black of night_  
 _When I give less than I take_  
 _It is my fault, my own mistake_

_We will run and scream_  
 _You will dance with me_  
 _We’ll fulfill our dreams and we’ll be free_  
 _We will be who we are_  
 _And they’ll heal our scars_  
 _Sadness will be far away.”_  


_Birdy feat. Mumford & Sons, “Learn me Right”_

The story of how Denise Sherwood and Claudia Joy Holden came to be friends is one of trials and tribulations and involves husbands, kids, deployments and in one instance also a truck load of pumpkin pie and a gaggle of staff officers. They don’t talk about that one, ever.

The most curious thing is that the first time they met each other, they couldn’t stand each other. Denise found that Lieutenant’s wife arrogant and snobby, Claudia Joy found that Sergeant’s wife provincial and homey. They didn’t have too much to say to each other and they stayed out of each other’s way. Unfortunately, they were both in the same FRG, and they both had an ambition to do as much for their husband’s career as they could, for the two years they had to bear with each other. It didn’t end well.

It took them two years to meet again. Michael was a Captain and Frank had just been made a 2nd Lieutenant, and they found themselves on the same post in Italy. Jeremy Sherwood was two, Amanda Holden was just about to reach the same age, they really, really liked each other and there was nothing either Denise or Claudia Joy could do about it.

They briefly considered damning it all to hell and fuck kindergarten and they actually would have if it hadn’t had to shut down all on itself for two weeks because of a rather nasty case of measles among one of the kindergartners. There was nothing in the world that could keep Jeremy and Amanda away from each other and so, just to quell the infernal screaming, they spent two weeks in each other’s company, on a practically daily basis. They emerged with a tentative truce. A one year deployment of both husbands to Bosnia and shared FRG leader burdens turned it into a nonaggression pact.

When Emmaline Holden turned one without her daddy there and the birthday party ended with tears from Amanda, that even Jeremy’s presence couldn’t quell, an unhappy pair of rabbits loose on the post and a one year old smeared with chocolate all over her little self, Denise found Claudia Joy in the cupboard under the stairs, hugging herself and crying her heart out. She’d never seen anything more heartbreaking ever before. She never associated “arrogant” and “snobby” with Claudia Joy ever again.

There was this one moment, about six months later when one of the wives in the FRG Claudia Joy shared with Denise had a nervous breakdown. Claudia Joy had never seen someone act so professional, fast and precise before seeing Denise attend to her, as if she did this every day for breakfast. She would never call her provincial and homey again.

There were other moments, situations, days like this through the next four years when their husbands climbed the career ladder and they dragged their entire household across two continents, packed up houses, moved into new ones and the first time ever they didn’t groan when realizing that had houses in the same neighborhood on post, they realized something had gradually, fundamentally changed since the first time they met.

They never did tell each other about how they now felt when they stepped out of the house and saw the other do just the same and they never did tell each other when they thought they’d finally become friends. Because it didn’t happen like that. It didn’t have a really catalyst, just the day Claudia Joy told Denise she’d miss her if they got PCSed to different posts at their next turn and Denise answered with hugging her shoulders.

They did miss each other terribly for the next three years before both their husbands got a posting at Fort Marshall. Nothing better could ever have happened to them.


End file.
